I've Got You
by piper maru duchovny
Summary: It was worth it in the end. Flack/OC post 6x04


**A/N: Howdy. So, I'm eighteen! My birthday was -glances at clock- yesterday (18th). Several of my friends wrote me some awesome birthday ficage and I wanted to write this as a little thank you. Plus, Flack's angst has been bothering me. Austin is my own character, you can read about her in 'What It Means To Be Broken' under the penname Midsummer's Rain. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

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_Of all the things I still remember__  
Summer's never looked the same  
__The years go by and time just seems to fly  
But the memories remain._

-September by Daughtry;

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She stood outside the door; her hand resting on the cold metal knob as she chewed on her lip. She hadn't seen Don Flack in a long time and that fact broke her heart. She had thought that she'd stay in touch with Don and Danny forever.

"Now or never, Hawthorne." She twisted the knob and walked in the bar. Austin Hawthorne's heart broke at the sight of the man who she'd once promised her ever after to. She walked over and stood behind him for a moment before whispering, "Nice shirt... take it off."

Don Flack turned on the stool slowly, "Austin Grace."

"Don Flack." Austin hooked her thumbs through her belt loops and rocked on her Converse.

"Whatchya doin' here Austin?" He took a swig of his beer.

"Danny called." She climbed onto the stool next to him and motioned for a longneck.

"He shouldn't of done that." He sighed.

"Don." She took his hand and turned him to face her, "I'm sorry about Jessica."

"Don't." He pleaded, "Don't be sorry. I can't take one more person offering me a platitude. 'Specially not from you."

"Okay." Austin nodded, "How's Danny?"

"Doin' better. He was so excited when you showed up after his surgery." Flack gave a sad smile.

"Lindsay loved the doctor yelling at him." Austin chuckled, "He walkin' yet?"

"Gettin' there."

"Do I need to put a boot up his ass?" She laughed, knowing how stubborn her best friend could be.

"Get in line." He chuckled.

"Can I ask the really dumb question?" Austin asked and took a swig of her beer.

"Always."

"How're ya doin'?" She whispered.

Tears pooled in his blue eyes and he blinked them back, "Honestly?"

"Always." She echoed his earlier words.

"Every moment without her is a living hell." His voice was thick with emotion and he cleared his throat.

"C'mere." Austin pulled on his hand and he slid off his seat and stood in the space between their stools. She wrapped her arms around his stiff body and his head rested in the crook of her neck. Her dark brown curls smothering his face and the smell of White Rain overloading his senses. Her hands traced over his back as he clung to her dark blue flannel shirt and his tears dampened her shoulder, "I've got you." _I've always had you._

They stayed that way for awhile before Austin placed some money on the bar and took his hand, leading him from the establishment. His fingers laced through hers and she hailed them a cab and rattled off her address. She didn't let go of his hand as they rode in companionable silence.

"Come in." She whispered the command and pulled him out of the cab with her.

"Aust.." His voice trailed off.

"Let me take care of you tonight, okay?" She stood on her tiptoes, pressing a kiss to his forehead, "You need a good nights sleep and a few hugs. Tomorrow, you can go and I'll let Messer think that you were all macho about it. Deal?"

"Deal." He didn't have the strength to fight her, nor did he want to.

Austin took his hands again and lead him into her apartment building and up the stairs to her fourth floor apartment. She was currently paying the bills with her bartending skills, but she rarely stuck to the same job for more than a year. She'd been running since they were kids; from her parents, from the law, from the hell that was her home. Flack had never appreciated her ability to run until recently.

"Make yourself at home." Austin told him, "I'm just gonna change."

He nodded and meandered around her living room. The furniture was a landmark from their teenage years. The tattered orange couch and the pleather lazy boy had once cluttered her parents basement, while they now made her whitewash apartment home. The lamp on an end table cast a glow across the apartment. Flack's eyes drifted over the mantle and all the pictures from Austin's childhood. She had been Danny's best friend since he was seven and she was five; pictures of them running wild on the block and at Yankees games took a good chunk of the mantle. There were a few pictures of her brother and whom he suspsected to be nieces and nephews. His eyes settled on his favorite and he picked it up.

Flack had met Danny Messer and Austin Hawthorne during his junior year of high school. He'd switched from a private school in Yonkers to the Bronx high school Danny and Austin attended. Danny was in his grade and Austin was a freshman. The picture had been taken at Coney Island, they'd been dating for two weeks and had gone with Danny and his current flame for the Mermaid festival. Austin had glitter on her face and her arms were locked around his waist, her face resting on his chest while he had traced lazy circles on her arm.

"It was all simple back then." Austin whispered and he jumped.

"Sorry... I..." He placed the frame back on the mantle.

"Don't be." Austin chuckled, "I love that picture. We were all so happy."

"Oblivious to the evils of the world." He added, "Well, I was.. you.."

"I was pretty oblivious too. Thanks to you and Danny. No matter how bad it was, you guys were my knights in shining armor." Austin smiled and traced her hand over his jaw.

"How do you do it?" Flack asked, taking her hand and sitting down on the couch.

"Do what, Don?" She turned to face him, curling her legs underneath her. Her flannel pajama pants hung low on her hips and white tanktop bared an inch of her toned stomach. She'd swept her brown hair into a bun and removed her makeup, comfortable just being herself in front of her old friend.

"Live." He suggested, "Move on after something so horrible happened."

"You get up each day knowing that it's gonna hurt like hell." She searched for the right words, "Sometimes memories tip you over like a wave during a storm and somedays the pain is as real as it was the day it happened."

"Gee, that's reassuring."

"Shut up, Wiseass and lemme finish." Austin rolled her eyes, "But the further away you get from it, the more it fades. The waves come slower, breathing becomes easier. You get more prepared for when you get knocked over. Learn how to cope. Find friends to help you get through it. Learn how to let said friends in."

"I've missed you." He blurted out.

"I've missed you too, Donald Duck." She smiled.

"I know people convinced you that was original, but I'm here to tell you, that's lies." Don chuckled.

"You love it, don't lie." She ran a hand through his hair, "When was the last time you slept?"

"Last night." He yawned.

"Let me rephrase that." Austin smirked, "When was the last time you slept eight straight hours with no nightmares?"

"Ten months, six days, and four hours ago." He sighed.

"Alright, c'mon." Austin stood, pulling him up with her.

"Grace." Don whined, "What're ya doin'?"

"Takin' care of you. What's it look like?" She walked backwards, leading him down the hall to her bedroom.

"I can sleep on the couch." He protested.

"Do you not remember that piece of crap?" Austin raised an eyebrow, "It's more lumpy than a sack of potatoes."

"Well, you're not sleepin' on it." Flack argued.

Austin shrugged, "We've shared a bed before."

"Not without having sex." Flack chuckled.

"There's a first time for everything." Austin flipped on the light in her bedroom, "A'sides, I'd like to think our hormones have quelled a bit in the last thirteen years."

"That's askin' for a lotta maturity, Grace." Flack grinned at her.

"Get down to your pretty boy boxers, Duck." Austin demanded, tossing back the covers and climbing in her side of the bed.

"Still demanding." He laughed and pulled his shirt over his head and toed off his shoes, "D'ya gotta watch?"

"Prude." Austin said and covered her face with her hands.

Flack removed his jeans and climbed in the bed beside her, "Happy?"

"Yes." Austin flicked the lights off, her arm snaking around his waist, "Don?"

"Yeah, Austin?" His voice came from complete darkness.

"I'm here." She promised, "I'm not going anywhere."

"I know."

She pressed a kiss to his forehead, "Go to sleep. I've got you."

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**Reviews? I'll love you forever. **


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